Mandy McGovern and Will Braxton Coffey in Bonnie & Clyde
Make no mistake: Bonnie & Clyde is not a feel-good musical. In fact, in the opening moments of director Courtney Crouse’s production at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, we witness Bonnie Parker (Amanda McGovern) and Clyde Barrow (Will Braxton Coffey) sitting in their car, riddled with bullet wounds – a fairly accurate depiction of the real-life end to the infamous Depression-era outlaws. The question isn’t what happens. History already tells us that. The question is how they got there.
That’s exactly what this musical, with its book by Ivan Menchell, lyrics by Don Black, and music by Frank Wildhorn, sets out to answer. Rewinding the clock, we first meet young Bonnie (a boisterous Paige Madej) and young Clyde (Olivia Grumm) as children growing up during the Dust Bowl. We watch them dream of something bigger than the poverty surrounding them. Bonnie wants to be a Hollywood star and, even then, Clyde idolizes outlaw Billy the Kid. Eventually, the duo find one another, slowly transforming into the notorious names history remembers.
Villains though they may be to the world, these two are undoubtedly the heroes of their own story, especially after they're played, as adults, by Mandy McGovern and Will Braxton Coffey. McGovern was captivating to watch from the moment she stepped on stage. She brought an earnestness to adult Bonnie that made it easy to understand how someone longing for more could fall so completely under Clyde’s spell. Coffey leaned into adult Clyde’s swagger with confidence and charisma, making him equal parts charming and dangerous. It isn’t any wonder the two are immediately drawn to each other when they first meet.
More importantly, the relationship between the pair felt completely believable. I don't think I’ve ever before specifically shouted out an intimacy choreographer in one of my reviews, but Ryan Scobel deserves recognition. During the show's opening-night performance, the chemistry between Bonnie and Clyde felt authentic without ever crossing into feeling uncomfortable or excessive for the stage.
But Bonnie and Clyde aren’t the only couple who connect well: Clyde’s brother Buck (Tripp McMille) and his wife Blanche (Vanessa Dominguez) are crucial to the story and just as talented as the leads. While Buck continuously gets pulled back into crime by his brother, Blanche desperately wants a normal life built on faith and stability. Dominguez brought both humor and heartbreak to Blanche, while DeMille gave Buck an easy likability. Buck finds himself torn between his wife’s desire for a crime-free life and loyalty to his brother that made his personal journey extra-intriguing and depressing.
Bonnie & Clyde wisely sprinkles in moments of humor before the story takes its inevitable darker turn. “You’re Going Back to Jail” was one of the highlights of the first act, featuring Emily Winn, Madeline Burroughs, and Peyton Houston backing up Blanche in her beauty parlor, and it’s a genuinely funny number that provides some much-needed levity.
One of the strongest aspects of Crouse's production is how it portrays Bonnie’s gradual descent into crime. She doesn’t immediately embrace Clyde’s bank-robbing lifestyle. In fact, McGovern makes Bonnie’s reluctance obvious throughout much of the first act. At just 19 years old and trapped in an unhappy marriage to an absent husband, Bonnie is desperate to be loved. It’s actually a little hard to witness just how quickly that need pulls her toward Clyde’s dangerous world, especially when the likable Ted Hinton (a butter-voiced Danny Hanna) is vying for her affections, as well. She and Blanche acknowledge that they can’t help themselves in the song “You Love Who You Love,” which might be the show's best-sung moment. Adam Thompson, as the preacher, is another standout vocalist. Across the board, though, music director Linden Amster has the entire cast sounding amazing.
There’s a particularly striking shift when Coffey presents McGovern with a new outfit, and she dresses on stage into Bonnie’s recognizable outfit from the real-life photographs. (Costume designer Oswald Porzillo did a fantastic job.) In that moment, it feels as though Bonnie has crossed an invisible line. There are still glimpses of the young girl who longs to be famous, but more so, she wants to be with Clyde: where he goes, she goes, and if that means a life on the run … so be it.
The four performers who make up the “Barrow gang” are terrific together on stage, and the musical does an excellent job of humanizing each of them. Yes, they’re robbing stores and banks. Yes, they’re killing those who get in their way. But Bonnie & Clyde invites the audience to not necessarily forgive, but witness how desperation can lead ordinary people down extraordinary paths. This is also seen in the inclusion of Parker’s real-life poetry into the script.
If I have one complaint, it’s admittedly a minor one. The script repeatedly refers to Bonnie as a “ravishing redhead,” but McGovern’s hair looked much darker under the stage lights, though young Bonnie’s wig clearly read as red. It’s entirely possible that lighting designer James Kyle Davis’ effects simply didn’t lend themselves well to bringing out auburn tones. That tiny nitpick aside, Davis’ contributions were outstanding, establishing both location and mood with remarkable precision. From the blinding flash of the mugshot camera to the deep crimson washes accompanying each act of violence, the lighting heightened the emotional weight of nearly every scene without ever calling too much attention to itself.
With outstanding performances, thoughtful direction, and a cast that finds the humanity in even history’s most notorious criminals, the Showboat's Bonnie & Clyde is a gripping production from beginning to end. It might not leave you smiling, but it does leave you thinking, and that’s exactly what a story like this should do.
Bonnie & Clyde runs at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre (303 Riverview Drive, Clinton IA) through August 2, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)242-6760 and visiting ClintonShowboat.com.
